Seven
by WaitingformyMunkustrap
Summary: Who doesn't love a handmade gift? Mr. Mistoffelees wants to make a special something for Jennyanydots' birthday, but accidentally conjures up MUCH more than he bargained for!
1. Playdate

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Come on, Tori. When have I ever acted on a bad idea?"

The queen's mind was immediately flooded with memories of the many singes, burns, electrocutions, and near heart attacks she had witnessed throughout her young life at the hands of the magician. Mistoffelees continued gathering supplies, innocent of his best friend's worry.

They were soon joined by Mistoffelees' older brother, The Rum Tum Tugger, who took a seat next to Victoria. The young queen couldn't hope but blush at the attractive tomcat's proximity to her, though she did the best to hide it.

"So, I'm not here to spoil your playdate or anything," Tugger said. The younger cats pouted at his reference to their "playdate." They were adolescent cats! They didn't have "playdates" anymore.

"But you may want to reign in Tumblebrutus. He's been telling everyone you are in here, um," Tugger coughed. "Making kittens."

"That's exactly what we're doing," Mistoffelees told him, carefully laying out a deck of cards. Tugger frowned. "Wow, um, Misto, I- I figured one of the elders would have given you this talk, by now, but this isn't exactly how you-"

"Not like _that_ , you idiot."

Misto tossed a top hat onto the floor in between them and sat across from his spectators. "So," he began, "we all know Jenny has always wanted kittens of her own, yes?"

"Yes, of course," Tugger replied. "She mothers everybody. Even the cockroaches."

"But she's spayed," Mistoffelees continued.

"That is also correct."

"Well, with her birthday coming up and all, I wanted to get her something special. I'm going to make her a kitten, with _magic!_ " Misto beamed.

"Be careful, Mistoffelees," Victoria urged, as he began tossing his cards and dice around in showers of colorful sparks. He just rolled his eyes at her.

"It's just one kitten, Tori. It won't be hard."

The cards and dice disappeared in the magician's hands as he brought them together. He closed his eyes, focusing deeply on his task. Although he'd never admit it to Victoria or Tugger, he was actually quite nervous. He'd never attempted a trick anywhere near this magnitude, before. What if he made a puppy by accident, or a cat with three eyes, or worse – a human kitten? Mistoffelees shuddered at the thought. Human kittens were disgusting, like alien potatoes.

He opened his eyes to see an orb appear in his paws. He had expected it to be orange, but it was actually changing colors. _Oh well,_ Mistoffelees thought, and he cast the orb into the top hat that sat before him. Everyone gasped when they heard a tiny meow from inside the hat. Mistoffelees peered inside. His eyes went wide as he grinned and began to hyperventilate.

"I did it," he gasped. "Oh, Everlasting Cat, I did it! I made a kitten!"

He gently cradled the tiny orange tabby in his paws and pulled him out of the hat, knocking it over in the process. To everyone's surprise, two more kittens tumbled out.

"Um, Misto?" Victoria whined, panic rising in her voice.

"Um..." Mistoffelees set the orange tabby kitten beside him reached out towards the hat, as another kitten rolled out. "Shit. I-"

Tugger pulled the hat upright, hoping to stop what might have been an endless flow of kittens pouring from it. The three older cats stared at each other in what could only be describe as unadulterated shock.

Eventually, Mistoffelees gulped and peered into the hat, which had stopped producing kittens, but not before three more had appeared inside. He started turning green behind the white fur on his face. "There's, um-"

"Seven," Victoria breathed.


	2. Vision

Tugger burst out laughing, shattering the silence that filled the den. "Seven!" he cried, "You made _seven_ kittens. What the hell are you gonna do with seven kittens!? Oh, Everlasting Cat, this is too rich."

"Tugger, this is serious!" Victoria snapped. She turned back to her friend and asked him gently, "What _are_ you going to do with them?"

Mistoffelees sighed, looking around at all seven kittens. There was the orange tabby tom that he meant to create, sitting by his side. A blue tom, a black and white queen, and a brown and white tom lay in a pile next to the hat. Inside, a silver tabby queen, a white and silver queen, and a white and cream tom curled delicately around each other. Mistoffelees' vision began to go blurry. He could feel himself swaying. He could faintly hear his friend and brother calling his name, echoing gently as if they were in a long tunnel, before his head hit the floor.

 _"Mistoffelees. MiIiIiIiIistoooooffelEEEEEeeeees."_

 _Mistoffelees opened his eyes to find himself in a dark room with no doors or windows. A low humming sound echoed around him as he searched for the source of the voice. "A- Are you a ghost?"_

 _"NOOOoooOOOooo."_

 _"Everlasting C- C- Cat?"_

 _"What? No. How special do you think you are?"_

 _"Oh."_

 _"I am merely a product of the sick, adolescent mind that thought it would be a good idea to make the queen who raised him a FREAKING KITTEN for her birthday."_

 _Mistoffelees blushed, if he was even a physical being in whatever sort of dream realm this was._

 _"THIS IS NOT A DREAM."_

 _Ah crap, now it's pissed off._

 _"It's a VISION. Totally different."_

 _"But- but-" Mistoffelees protested. "Jenny has always wanted a kitten of her own! I was doing a good thing! It just... didn't turn out like I thought."_

 _"Hey, you don't need to justify your actions to me, the voice in your head. You need to justify yourself to the six displaced kittens you accidentally brought into the world."_

 _Misto hung his head. He always thought Tugger would be the brother to accidentally bring kittens into the world, not him. He was responsible...ish. He at least respected the gift of life and the sanctity of kittenhood. Victoria even warned him about this. She must hate him, now. Stupid, stupid, Misto. How could you be so reckless?_

 _"Shhh..." the voice cooed. "I'm here to tell you that this was meant to be."_

 _"I was meant to screw everything up?"_

 _"Yep."_

 _"Oh. Okay."_

 _"Now, wake up. You're scaring your brother and your friend. Mistoffelees. Mistoff_ elees. Mistoffelees...please..."


	3. Reality

When Mistoffelees' eyes fluttered open, he was cradled in Tugger's arms, in Jennyanydots' den. Tugger was having a mild freak out over his little brother's state, while Jenny was bustling about, gathering supplies.

"Misto, hey, are you awake?" Tugger gasped.

Mistoffelees nodded drowsily. Even the slight movement of his head made him feel dizzy.

Tugger sighed, "Thank the Everlasting Cat. You passed out and hit your head pretty hard."

The young magician tried to remember the circumstances just before he blacked out. He had been in his den, hadn't he? Tugger and Victoria were there, and there were...no. It couldn't be true. It must have been a dream.

Then again, Mistoffelees _had_ been planning to make Jenny a kitten for her birthday with his magic. Had he actually done it? Was he actually powerful enough to make a kitten? He gulped, as his sense of reality slowly began to creep back to him. Was he actually powerful enough to make _seven_ kittens?

"Where's Victoria?" he blurted, suddenly in a panic.

Jenny was by his side in an instant, laying a calming paw on his shoulder. "Hush, dear, don't get all worked up."

"Victoria's back at your den," Tugger told him. "She's taking care of the, um, damages."

Mistoffelees' turned a ghostly pale color. He was beginning to feel sick to his stomach, again.

Jenny addressed Tugger. "He seems to be okay. I'm just going to get him some ice for that bump on his head.

When Jenny left the den, Misto sighed heavily. "Tugger, what am I gonna do?"

"Find some nice stray queen to play along and tell everyone you had a fling. That's what I'd do."

"I'm serious, Tug."

"So am I."

Mistoffelees began trembling, as tears began to silently slip down his cheeks. "I have seven kittens, Tug," he rasped. "I'm barely even a tom, and now you think I'm an idiot, and Victoria hates me-"

"Hey!" Tugger held the younger tom tighter to his chest, resting his chin between his ears. "Victoria does not hate you, and I don't think you're an idiot. In fact, I think it was pretty clever of you, to be able to magically poof up some kittens."

Mistoffelees shushed him, not wanting Jenny to know about his little accident, but his big brother's words were comforting.

* * *

After a few more minutes, Jenny sent Mistoffelees back to his den with a bag of ice for his head, with clear instructions for Tugger not to leave him alone for the night. Tugger assured her that he and Victoria were on the case and followed his little brother home. The two were greeted in Mistoffelees' den by a chorus of whining kittens and an incredibly panicked, white queen.

"Mistoffelees, Tugger, thank the Everlasting Cat your back! They're hungry, and we don't have anything to feed them. We have to go to my mom or Jenny-"

"No!" Mistoffelees exclaimed, sounding much more angry than he had intended. "I've got this. I conjured up seven kittens, and you think I can't conjure up something for them to eat?"

Victoria's ears pressed flat against her skull. It looked like she was ready to cry. She turned her attention back to the two kittens she held in her arms: The silver queen and the brown and white tom.

Mistoffelees immediately regretted his tone. "I'm sorry, Tori, I'm just- Here." He poofed up seven tiny bottles of kitten formula. "I guess we'd all better get to feeding."

"Um, Misto," Tugger chuckled nervously. "I haven't the first idea how to feed a kitten."

The younger tom smirked. "Well, this'll be good practice for your inevitable 'accident.' Odds aren't exactly in your favor. Now, grab a hat kitten."

Mistoffelees, Tugger, and Victoria each attempted to bottle feed two kittens at once. Victoria, being a queen, had some level of maternal instinct kick in and had relatively good results. Her kittens finished first and she moved on to the neglected seventh kitten, the black and white queen. Meanwhile, Tugger and Mistoffelees fumbled miserably with the bottles and kittens. It took roughly an hour for all seven to finish their milk. Their three "parents" then took to the monumental task of getting all of the kittens to sleep.

"Maybe we should, you know, sing to them or something?" Tugger suggested, awkwardly bouncing the orange tabby and blue toms in his arms.

Mistoffelees sighed, looking down at the two lightly colored kittens in his arms, who were done fussing but seemed in no hurry to stop batting at their caretaker and go to sleep. "Sing," he agreed. "But no dancing," he added with a wink in Tugger's direction.

Tugger grinned mischievously. "What? Gotta teach 'em young."

Victoria blushed as the rocked the three sleeping kittens in her arms. She took in a shaky breath and said quietly, "Misto, we can't go on forever, like this. We need to get help."

"I know," her friend groaned. "But how am I supposed to explain this? Everyone's gonna hate me."

"Hey, Little Brother," Tugger said, taking a hold of Mistoffelees' shoulder. "We've got your back. Don't worry. We'll figure it out."

"Thanks," Mistoffelees mumbled, secretly wishing Victoria would give him some confirmation, instead of his brother.


	4. Thanks

Mistoffelees wasn't sure what was making him so nervous, now. Before his little "accident," he had played this moment over and over in his head, and it seemed so perfect. Now, he was shaken. What if Jenny didn't like the kitten? What if she wanted a queen? Part of him just wanted to run back to his den, put the kitten back with the others, and cry for a week about how he'd ruined not only his, but Tugger and Victoria's lives, as well. Unfortunately for him, Jennyanydots has ears like a hawk, and the boot of the car in which she and Skimbleshanks made their den suddenly flew open. Mistoffelees was so startled, he almost threw the box containing the orange tabby kitten. Thank goodness, he didn't.

"Mistoffelees, dear!" Jenny cried happily. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Mistoffelees stood frozen to the spot. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He had never been so uncomfortable in his life. Finally, he blurted, "Happy birthday," and shoved the box into Jenny's arms.

"Oh thank you, dear!" She grinned brightly. "You really didn't have to get me anything, you know. Just being the kitten I never...had?"

Jennyanydots opened the box and stared down at the little orange kitten wriggling around inside. She looked back and forth between him and Mistoffelees. "Who is this?" she asked, finally. "Where did you find him?"

The magician blushed. "I made him," he confessed, "with magic."

Jenny carefully placed the box on the ground and picked up the kitten, cradling his tiny form in her arms. Tears began to sparkle in her eyes. "You- You made me a kitten?"

"Well- I mean- Um- You see-" Mistoffelees stammered. "You've always wanted a kitten, and I just thought that, maybe-"

Jenny pulled him into a crushing hug with her free arm that wasn't holding the kitten. "I can't believe this," she said. "I can't believe you really did this. Mr. Mistoffelees, you are a treasure, you clever cat!" She smiled down at the tiny kitten in her arms. "He looks just like me and Skimble."

"That was the idea," Mistoffelees told her, regaining confidence. "If you need anything for him, I can conjure it. Just let me know." He turned and began to walk away, but froze when Jenny called his name. Panic crept back up inside of him. Was something wrong? Did Jenny know he had made a mistake? Did she hate him? Was she ashamed of him? Was she going to get him banished from the tribe forever for accidentally conjuring up six unwanted kittens? She was. Obviously. He might as well poof up all his belongings in a hobo bag, right now, and head for the junkyard exit. Where would he go? Skimble wouldn't allow him on the train, after this. Maybe, he could stowaway on a ship to the Americas. The Caribbean sounded nice, for a short-haired cat. It would be warm all year, and surely there would be little critters for a cat to eat. Or maybe he could go to his brother, Macavity. Oh wait, Macavity hated him. He'd kill him. Though, that might not be so bad. Maybe death was the best cover for his shame.

"Thank you."

It took Mistoffelees a moment to snap out of it. Jenny was looking at him through tearful eyes, smiling absolutely joyfully. She had just thanked him.

"Oh," he replied, stunned. "You're welcome."

And with that, he sprinted back to his den.


	5. Responsibility

Mistoffelees conjured up a paper and a pen and pasted the paper onto the wall of his den. "Okay," he sighed, quickly drawing a chart on the paper. "We have three toms and three queens. There's the blue tom-"

"Fez," Tugger said.

"The tuxedo queen-"

"Fedora."

"The brown and white tom-"

"That's Cowboy," said Victoria.

"There's a silver tabby queen-"

"Beanie."

"A silver and white queen-"

"Beret."

"And, finally, a cream and white tom."

"And that would be Sombrero," Tugger finished.

Mistoffelees stood back and took a look at his handiwork. He now had a chart with all the kittens' names, followed by twelve blocks each. "Newborn kittens need to eat every two hours, right Victoria?"

"That's right."

He began to write in numbers, above the columns: _Midnight, two, four, six..._ Finally, once the chart was done, he turned around to face Victoria and Tugger.

He clapped his hands together, very showman-like. Somehow, it made him feel more comfortable. He always was so comfortable, putting on a show.

"Alright, so from eight o'clock at night until eight o'clock in the morning, we will each be responsible for two kittens," he explained. "Tugger and I can take shifts, during the day. Does that sound okay?"

Victoria and Tugger agreed.

Mistoffelees looked sheepish. "Thank you. I'm really, really sorry this...happened," he sighed.

Tugger flashed him a winning smile. "Anything for my baby brother." That just made Mistoffelees blush even more.

The three then claimed their charges. Tugger offered to take Fez and Fedora. Victoria suggested she take the other two queens, Beanie and Beret, leaving Mistoffelees with the toms, Cowboy and Sombrero. No sooner had they gone over their duties than the old clock in Mistoffelees' den struck midnight.

"Time to feed them," Victoria sighed.

Once again, Victoria was able to feed her two kittens without issue, before going to help Tugger with Fez and Fedora. "Y'know, you're really good at this," he purred, playfully nudging her on the shoulder. "You'll make an excellent mother, one of these days."

Victoria turned bright red and giggled lightly at his comment. Mistoffelees suddenly felt hot all over, and he scowled, forcing himself to turn his attention to Cowboy and Sombrero. Victoria was his best friend. He didn't like his stupid older brother... _flirting_ with her! And in front of all the kittens!

Mistoffelees sighed, when he realized how ridiculous he was being. The kittens hadn't even opened their eyes yet. What was he so worried about? It's not like Tugger was going to take Victoria from him.

He shook his head at that thought, confused. Victoria wasn't "his," in any sense of the word. Well, she was "his" best friend, but aside from that, she certainly didn't _belong_ to him.

"Are you okay, Misto?"

Mistoffelees broke from his train of thought at the sound of Victoria's voice. "Yeah, Tori, I'm fine," he said, trying to sound confident. Instead, his voice came out sounding high pitched, like he had a woodwind instrument in place of a windpipe.

 _Damn it, Misto._ Ever since these damn kittens had been conjured, he just wasn't himself. He felt like a queen in heat. At least, he felt like he imagined queens in heat must feel, what with their crazy moods and outbursts.

The kittens were barely a day old, and they were already ruining his life. It would only be a matter of time before Victoria and Tugger ditched him, and he would be stuck with all six, by himself. He would have to ask someone else for help, but who? What if they told Old Deuteronomy? There would surely be grave punishment. Old Deuteronomy would probably poke Mistoffelees' eyes out himself. Mistoffelees' own uncle, Bustopher Jones, would like saw his arm off and eat it. Then, they would send him to Macavity, who would tear out his unessential organs and sell them on the black market. He would use the money to gather more troops, of course, and Mistoffelees would be single-handedly responsible for the downfall of the junkyard.

"Mistoffelees."

He jumped at the voice, which was Victoria's. He saw that his kittens had finished their bottles.

"You have to burp them and potty them," she reminded him.

Mistoffelees grimaced. "Right."


	6. Enough

Immediately after feedings, when all the kittens had settled down to nap, their three "parents" could pretend for a while that nothing out of the ordinary had happened, over the past four days. That is, for two hours, until the kittens had to eat, again. On this night, Mistoffelees sat outside his den, enjoying the cool night air, while Tugger paid some long overdue attention to his entourage of queen-kits. Victoria was back inside, watching over the kittens. The official story, of course, was that Mistoffelees had loaned her a book to read, and what better place to read it than in the peace of the conjuring cat's den?

Mistoffelees sighed contentedly, conjuring up a pair of dice to play with.

Despite everything, he couldn't help but smile at Jenny and Skimbleshanks, who were across the clearing, fawning over the orange tabby kit, whom they named Cremecious. Jenny cradled him in her arms, smiling at him, so in love. Skimble stood next to them, with his arm around his mate, while Asparagus and Alonzo chatted with them about how cute he was.

Mistoffelees chucked. Kittens always had the power to melt even the toughest, tomliest toms.

He threw his dice on the ground, where they promptly turned into flowers. Mistoffelees smiled. Orchids. Maybe, he would give them to Victoria, as a thank you for being such an awesome friend.

He had gotten so involved in what he was doing, he didn't notice that he had been approached. He jumped at the sound of a voice, right next to him.

"Lovely flowers, Lad."

He looked up to see Skimbleshanks, who then took a seat next to him.

"I came to talk to you, for Jenny and myself."

Uh oh. This was it. Mistoffelees' moment of truth. The moment that would make or break him. The beginning of the end.

He nervously looked up at the older tom, who sighed and put his arm around him.

"Mistoffelees," Skimbleshanks said, "you have been like a son to Jenny and me. We care about you dearly. Do you know that?"

Mistoffelees nodded.

"You did an amazing thing for us. We're so thankful, but...you're a disappointment to the entire yard, and we all wish you had never been born."

Mistoffelees realized that he had imagined that last part.

"...we're worried that you may not have felt like enough."

"What do you mean?" the young cat asked.

Skimble pulled him closer. "We love our new son, and we love our older son: You." He gently kissed the younger tom's head. "We're overjoyed to have Crem, but we don't ever want you to feel like you weren't enough. You would have been enough. You've always been enough."

Mistoffelees wasn't sure what he was feeling, only that he was getting choked up. "Thanks, Skimble," he murmured, snuggling up to the side of the tomcat who raised him.

"Any time, lad."


	7. Eyes

**It's finally here: Chapter Seven of "Seven!"**

* * *

 _This chapter is dedicated to R, in memory of all those 3 a.m. feedings. Gone, but never forgotten, and always loved._

 _"For the first time, you can open your eyes and see the world without your sorrow. No one knows the pain you left behind.  
All the peace you can ever find is waiting there to hold and keep you. Welcome to the first day of your life. Just open up your eyes."  
_

 _-Open Up Your Eyes by Daughtry_

* * *

"Tugs. Tug. Tugger. Tugger. Bro," Mistoffelees murmured, punctuating each word with a lazy swat at his brother. "Your shift." He yawned and curled back up, anxious to spend the next two hours sleeping.

Tugger reluctantly stirred. "It's two in the afternoon, Mistoffelees; shut your pie hole," he grumbled.

"Kittens, Tug."

"Right," Tugger sighed, dragging himself up off his nest on the floor. Mistoffelees had ever so kindly conjured up enough bottles of kitten formula for the day, storing them in an old wine cabinet. Tugger retrieved six and sat down in front of the snoozing kittens, still half asleep, himself.

He had to admit, they were pretty cute, and he was getting pretty attached to his Fez and Fedora.

Two at a time, he placed he kittens carefully in his lap and offered them their bottles, which they readily accepted. With Victoria's help, he had actually gotten the hang of it. That is, when he could keep himself awake. Five days of daytime feedings had begun to take their toll on Tugger and Mistoffelees.

After Fez and Fedora had been taken care of, Tugger moved on to Beanie and Beret. For some reason, he had the urge to keep the kittens in their pairs, even though they spent most of their time all together in a litter of six.

Tugger let himself get lost in his thoughts. He was reminded of his own kittenhood, when he and his littermates had been abandoned. Only two of them survived: Him and his brother, Macavity. He shuddered when he thought about the things they'd been through together, and what Macavity had become. Because of his tumultuous upbringing – or lack thereof – Tugger never wanted kittens of his own. The six hat kittens would be enough for a lifetime.

He glanced down and Beanie and Beret, and was thoroughly startled to see a pair of silver eyes staring up at him.

* * *

"Mistoffelees!"

The young conjurer got quite the rude awakening, as his older brother leaped across the den and landed on him, knocking the wind out of him. "What the actual hell, Tug?" he growled. He wriggled himself around to look up at Tugger, who had him pinned in the nest.

"It's Beanie," the very, very awake tom said. "Come look!"

He dragged a reluctant Mistoffelees up by his arm and brought him over to where the six hat kittens were rolling around and mewling softly. Tugger scooped the tiny, silver tabby queen up and handed him to Mistoffelees, practically bouncing with excitement.

Mistoffelees rolled his eyes, but was quickly startled wide awake when he found himself looking into Beanie's. "She- She opened her eyes!"

"She's the first one!" Tugger added. "Because another silver tabby overachiever is what this tribe needs."

Mistoffelees forced a smile, but something Tugger said struck a chord with him. _The tribe_. Whether he liked it or not, these kittens were a part of it. Or were they? Would they be accepted? What if the tribe threw them out, along with Mistoffelees, and he was left all alone with all six of them? What about Crem? What about Tugger and Victoria?

He shuddered. The elders – and Victoria – always told him to be careful with his magic, and what did he do? Not be careful with his magic. Beanie opening her eyes made it very real. He had made seven kittens, six that were surplus, and they were real, growing cats. What had he gotten himself into?


	8. Caught

Two days later, Beanie was still the only kitten with her eyes open. She watched and giggled as Mistoffelees flicked his tail back and forth in front of her, sending blue sparks flying this way and that. They always dissipated, before they rained down on the kitten. At least, she was easily entertained.

Victoria and Tugger sat nearby, soothing the other kittens to sleep. They couldn't help but pity their friend, who looked absolutely miserable.

Victoria sighed, "Misto, why don't you take the rest of the night off?"

"Hm?" Mistoffelees barely looked up from where his gaze was locked on the floor.

"I said," Victoria began, reaching over and taking the magician's chin in her paw, lifting it so that he was looking at her. "Take the night off. You deserve it."

He shook his head out of her grip. "I don't deserve it."

Victoria looked at Tugger, who shrugged.

"Come on, Misto," she insisted. "We can't stand seeing you like this. You should go. We can handle it."

Mistoffelees looked at his best friend and his brother. He really didn't want to leave them alone to watch the kittens. He wasn't sure why. He desperately did want the night off, after all. He just felt uneasy. Why did Victoria want him out so bad?

Tugger sighed, "What if Tori went with you? Would you go, then?"

The younger cats looked at him, surprised.

"What? I can handle it." Tugger grinned, making Victoria blush and Mistoffelees want to throw up.

Mistoffelees couldn't figure out what was making him resent his brother so much, all of a sudden. They were always close. Incredibly close, in fact. They were rarely apart. They told each other everything. They were two halves of a whole. Tugger would be lost without Mistoffelees, but, ever since the kittens had been born, all Mistoffelees wanted was for his older brother to go away.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the front of Mistoffelees' den. The three cats inside snapped to attention.

"Victoria? Mistoffelees? Tugger?"

The voice belonged to Jellylorum, Victoria's mother, and she was definitely getting closer. The three looked at each other frantically. If she walked in, she would see the kittens. They had to stop her.

Victoria and Misto jumped up and ran towards the den entrance, with Tugger a few steps behind them. They intercepted Jellylorum, just in the nick of time.

"Hey, Mom. Do you need something?" Victoria asked as sweetly as she good. Mistoffelees said a silent thank you to the Everlasting Cat that his best friend was such a good actress.

"I just wanted to check on you," Jellylorum replied. "You three have been spending an awful lot of time in here..." She frowned at something behind them. Mistoffelees felt his stomach do flips. _Did she see the kittens?_ Please, _Everlasting Cat, don't let her see the kittens!_

"Rum Tum Tugger, what _are_ you doing?"

Mistoffelees and Victoria turned around to see Tugger with his arms stretched out above his head, holding a sheet behind him, blocking the entire entrance to the main part of the den.

"I'm pretending to be a dragon," he said.

"A dragon?"

"Yes." He flapped his "wings." "A sexy, sexy dragon."

"Anyway..." Jellylorum continued, reluctantly turning her attention back to the two younger cats. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. You can't just hole up in Mistoffelees' den, all the time."

Victoria smiled. "As luck would have it, Misto and I were just going for a walk."

She looped her arm through his and all but dragged him out of the den, acting perfectly casual, while Mistoffelees was still panicking inside. They left Jellylorum behind, staring with concern at Tugger, who was still holding up the sheet.

He huffed, "Out of my lair, bitch."


	9. Kittenhood

"See? Fresh air and moonlight. It's good for you," Victoria said, smiling sweetly at Mistoffelees. Mistoffelees smiled back, albeit weak and nervously. "Yeah. Nice," he pretended to agree, trying desperately to calm the sick feeling that filled the pit of his stomach. It was his first time to be away – like, really away – from the kittens, since he'd conjured them up. Even worse – they were with Tugger, the _dragon_.

"You okay?" Victoria asked. Mistoffelees nodded. She took his hand. "Come on, let's go to that spot in the south of the yard with all the old human kittens' toys. You can make them move, just like when we were kittens!" She started jogging, pulling her reluctant friend along with her.

Mistoffelees and Victoria had a lot of good times together, as kittens. Mistoffelees was actually quite a bit older than Victoria, but they never cared. He wondered when she had become the mature, nurturing one. Suddenly, he felt bad, like he must be a pain to deal with. After all, he had been having mood swings to rival a pregnant queen, and Cat knows his magic was a force to be reckoned with. Of course, then, there were the kittens.

He gasped, digging his heels into the ground and jerking Victoria back, "Oh, Everlasting Cats! What if Tugger runs out of kitten wipes? How many did we have? We have to go back!"

He turned to run back towards his den, but Victoria caught him. She forcefully turned him around and took his face in her hands. "Mr. Mistoffelees," she said. "We have plenty of kitten wipes. You conjured up more than enough for the entire month. Seriously. Have you seen your den? There are kitten wipes everywhere. Besides, Tugger is a grown tom. I think he's more than capable of handling it, if one of the kittens decides to take a shit."

Mistoffelees' face turned bright red. He had never _ever_ heard Victoria say so much as "hell" or "damn." Her mother would have had a stroke, if she had heard that.

The young queen giggled, "Oopsies." She took Mistoffelees' hand again and continued pulling him along.

It didn't take long for them to reach the corner of the junkyard where they used to play. It was filled with toys. Mistoffelees always used his magic to animate them. He and Victoria could have played there for hours, in their youth.

Mistoffelees scowled when he heard his brother's voice in his head. "You're still in your youth." Luckily, Victoria didn't notice. "Come on!" she urged, expertly leaping down the pile of discarded items. Mistoffelees followed, slowly and carefully, calculating each step.

Victoria doubled back, when she saw him turn ghostly pale. "What's the matter?"

"The kittens don't have any toys," he murmured, as much to himself as to his friend. "Beanie's eyes have already opened. The others are going to follow suit and they're never going to get to be kittens because they don't have any toys and I'm responsible for them Victoria seriously we have to go this was a bad idea and-"

"Shh. Misto, please, you're talking a mile a minute and I can hardly understand you."

Mistoffelees sighed, bowing his head. Now, he was frustrating his best friend, the person he needed and wanted to keep happy more than anyone else.

"I just want a few hours with my friend, Mistoffelees," she whimpered. "Is that too much to ask?"

"No," he answered quickly, determined. "It's not. Come on, let's play."


	10. Days

"Is this day eight or nine?" Mistoffelees asked sleepily.

"Eight," Tugger answered. "Sombrero and Cowboy opened their eyes, last night."

"Crem opened his, this morning," Victoria added.

Mistoffelees sighed. Lucky Cremecious: The only kitten he had meant to create, the kitten with real parents and a normal life. Lucky, lucky Crem.

"I can't believe it's only been eight days," Tugger mumbled. "It feels like eight years. I'm so freaking tired."

"Me, too," Victoria agreed.

Mistoffelees looked sadly at his friends, who were holding three kittens each. They were all leaned against the walls of his den, struggling to keep their eyes open. For one horrible moment, Mistoffelees thought he understood why his mother had abandoned him and all his siblings. He immediately felt sick to his stomach. What a horrible thing to think about the kittens! They were his fault- er, his _responsibility._ He was really trying not to see them as mistakes, but he often couldn't help it. They _were_ mistakes.

"You okay, Misto?" his brother asked.

He sniveled, "I don't know."

Tugger wasted no time in gently placing Fez, Fedora, and Cowboy on the floor and crawling over to Mistoffelees, scooping him up in his arms and cuddling him to his chest. Sure, the Rum Tum Tugger, didn't care for a cuddle, but his little brother was the exception to every rule.

"Shh, shh, shh, Mist," he cooed, as Mistoffelees started to openly cry. "Everything's gonna be okay, I promise."

Tugger and Victoria were so focused on their distressed friend that they didn't notice the new presence in the den with them.

"Um...Tori?"

The white queen gasped, looking up to find her brother, Pouncival, standing near the entrance, wide eyed. "Mom sent me to get you for dinner," he said. "Um, what exactly-"

In a literal flash, Mistoffelees disappeared from Tugger's arms and appeared mere inches in front of Pouncival, covering the confused, young tom's mouth with his paw.

"Now, you listen to me, Pouncy," he hissed. "Just take Victoria home. No questions, no answers, and if you say a word about anything you see here, I will _castrate you_. Understand?"

"Mistoffelees!"

The conjuring cat glanced apologetically, but not too apologetically, at Victoria, then turned back to Pouncival, who nodded.

"Okay." Mistoffelees took his hand off Pouncival's mouth. "Run along."

Pouncival took off out of the den, with Victoria in tow. Mistoffelees sighed and walked over to the kittens. "That's it," he grumbled. "We're gonna have to booby trap the den."

He sat down in a huff, hiding his face in his hands. He only looked up when heard a tiny sniffle and an equally dainty sneeze.

"Oh no. Oh no, no, Everlasting Cat, no."


	11. Fine

When sickness spreads among a litter of kittens, it spreads fast, as Mistoffelees and Tugger were about to find out. Within the next twenty-four hours, all six kittens were sniffling, sneezing messes. Victoria stayed home and Tugger stayed with Mistoffelees, under the guise that the magician was the one who was sick. It wasn't a complete lie. He certainly wasn't feeling well, just in a more emotionally volatile tornado of stress kind of way.

As soon as one kitten's fever would break and they would finally fall asleep, another would wake up in a coughing fit and start wailing. No one got any rest. Tugger spent every waking moment with two or three kittens snuggled into his mane for warmth, while Mistoffelees tried to keep them warm with magic. On top of regular feedings and cleanings and all the other pains in the neck that come from parenting, the two brothers had never felt more overwhelmed, and, frankly, they weren't exactly in the most rational states of mind.

"Okay, how about this?" Mistoffelees drew a line across the floor of the den in fire.

"Misto!" Tugger shouted, shielding Fedora and Beret from the fire. "What the heck?"

"Keep the sleeping ones on that side, and the crying ones on this side. The crackling of the flames will help cancel out the noise."

"There's a wall of _fire_ in the den!"

"It'll keep 'em warm."

Before Tugger could protest further, there was a knock at the entrance of the den. He grumbled, "At least the 'do not disturb' sign is working." He jumped up, settling the kittens as far away from the flames as he could, and went to answer. Pushing back the felt curtain that served as Mistoffelees' door, he smiled charmingly at Jellylorum.

"Evening, madam."

She scrunched up her nose. "What is that smell? Did you set something ablaze with your _dragon breath?_ "

"What's _that_ smell?" He gestured coolly to the covered bowl in Jellylorum's hands. "You make some roadkill punch?"

She held the bowl out to Tugger. "I made some chicken soup for Mistoffelees."

"Oh." Tugger blushed, taking the bowl. Everyone knew that his little brother was his one and only weakness. "Thanks."

"If he's too sick, bring him to me or Jenny," Jellylorum directed accusingly. "Don't wait for him to run a one-hundred and ten-degree fever and fall unresponsive."

She stomped off, and Tugger sighed. He let his shoulders slump and headed back inside. He came around the corner to find that the fire had been put out, a crisp line of still smoldering ash in its place. Mistoffelees was sitting cross-legged on the floor, frantically rocking and bouncing a wailing kitten.

"It's okay, Dora, come on," he whined. "You're okay. You're okay. I've got you. I've got you." He choked on those last words, sniffling and fighting back tears. "You're okay, kit, I promise. I'm gonna take care of you."

Tugger couldn't help but smile at his little brother, in spite of everything. He was a good kit. He cared. He cared a lot. Tugger's smile faltered. Mistoffelees cared a little too much about everyone and everything.

Fedora sniffed and sneezed, just as both her caretakers were startled by a flash of light. No – not a flash of light – a shower of bright blue sparks.

Mistoffelees cried out in surprise and pain as the fur on his cheeks was burned. His paws flew to his face, shielding his eyes, sending the tiny tuxedo queen tumbling to the ground. Tugger dropped the bowl, allowing chicken soup to splash all over the floor as he rushed to his brother's side and collapsed on to his knees beside him, cradling the smaller tom in his arms.

"Misto! Oh, Everlasting Cat, Misto, are you okay? What happened?"

"I didn't do it!" Mistoffelees cried. "She- Dora- Shit, is she okay?"

Tugger scooped the kitten up and took a look at her. "She's fine," he said. "She barely even bumped her head."

"Oh, no…" Misto wobbled, catching his head in his hands. "She's- She-"

"…is a conjurer," Tugger finished for him. "That's okay. That's fine."

"Yeah, fine. Fine."

"Fine."

"We're fine."


	12. Outside

"How many of them are conjurers?"

"Two. At least two."

It was Victoria's first day back at Mistoffelees' den with the kittens. She was naturally surprised to hear that both Fedora and Fez had begun to show signs of magical powers.

"My two," Tugger groaned. "Of course, the two I'm responsible for are sneezing sparks and magically refilling their bottles."

"Maybe they'll take after you and start breathing fire," Mistoffelees chuckled, earning an annoyed but amused look from his brother.

"We have to get them outside," Victoria declared. "We can't keep them cooped up in here. They need fresh air and sunshine, especially if they're going to have powers all bottled up inside of them, waiting to explode."

Mistoffelees and Tugger scoffed at her. "Are you crazy?" Tugger asked. "We can't take them outside, in full view of the tribe."

Mistoffelees was all of a sudden overcome with an overwhelming urge to contradict that. Sometimes, he could be so much like his brother, it was scary. He reprimanded himself. He wasn't Tugger. They were opposites. Night and day. Yet, if he agreed, wouldn't that also make him more like his brother? And why did he suddenly care so much?

He resolved to disagree. "Sure we can. Victoria's right. We can't keep them cooped up inside. It won't be good for their development."

"But, Misto-"

"Who is in charge here?"

"I vote Victoria," Tugger said. "Definitely Victoria."

Victoria giggled, and Mistoffelees' anger was quickly divided between Tugger and her. How dare they question him in his own den, over the care of his own mistakes?

He folded his arms over his chest and stared them down, not willing to give in. "Excuuuuuse me. I am the tom of this den – mainly because I'm the only one who actually lives here. I make the rules!"

He could practically feel Victoria roll her eyes. "Yeah, whatever, _tom of the den_. Tugger, be lookout. Misto and I will sneak the kittens out the back."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Mistoffelees, Tugger, Victoria, and their six whining charges found a quiet corner to settle down. The kittens still weren't all that mobile, so they weren't hard to keep track of. Beret, the only one who had yet to open her eyes, was snuggled up against Victoria, while all the others rolled around meowing, barely able to push their fat little tummies off the ground. They were quite an adorable sight.

Despite their newly discovered abilities, Tugger still found himself quite partial to Fez and Fedora. He even went so far as to leave the company of his brother and his friend to play with them. That left Victoria and Mistoffelees, and the silence didn't last more than a second.

"Okay, talk," Victoria commanded.

"Excuse me?"

"You haven't been acting like yourself," she explained. "I mean, I know you're stressed out about the kittens and everything, but still, you're being…I don't know."

Mistoffelees prodded, "No, tell me. What do you mean?"

Victoria avoided his gaze, looking down on the little white and silver kitten in her arms. "You're just being kind of rude. That's all."

"Rude!?"

His initial reaction was angry, but when he saw the genuinely sad look on his best friend's face, he softened. "I'm sorry, Tori. I don't mean to be rude, I just- I just… Well, I don't know why I'm acting the way I am."

Victoria looked up at him and placed her hand on his shoulder, smiling warmly. Her touch was comforting, and Mistoffelees smiled back.

"We're in this together," she said. "You, me, and Tugger. We've got this."

Their moment was rudely interrupted by a _thump_ and a loud cry. Everyone's attention snapped to the source of the cry – It was Cowboy, who had just fallen off a chair. Mistoffelees jumped up and ran to him, gently cradling his head and clutching his tiny body close to his chest. "What the _hell_ happened?" he snapped at Tugger, who was sitting a few feet away.

"He- he fell."

"And why didn't you catch him!?"

"I didn't see him! Why didn't _you_ catch him?"

"You were closest to him!" Mistoffelees cried. "You should have caught him. What if he was really hurt? What if he has a concussion?"

"Forget about the blame game, Misto," Victoria said, rushing to his side. "Let's just take him back to the den."

"We can't take him back, crying like this! Everyone will hear!"

Tugger sighed, "That's not what's most important, right now. If anyone asks, just tell them we were playing with helium, again."

Mistoffelees nodded nervously. The three gathered up all the kittens and headed back towards the den.

"What's helium?" Victoria asked.


	13. Emergency

"Are ready to apologize to Tugger, yet?"

It had been five days since the argument. Tugger had only returned to pick up supplies for Fez and Fedora, he and Mistoffelees glaring at each other the whole time. Victoria, for one, was tired of it.

"I can't be here all the time, and you can't look after four kittens all by yourself."

"What?" Mistoffelees pouted as he soothed a crying Beanie. "You'd rather hang out with Tugger than with me? If so, fine. I'm done. Just go."

Victoria folded her arms across her chest and glared daggers at her friend. "Are you _jealous_ , Mistoffelees? Why on Earth-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, the day got a whole lot more stressful. Tugger burst into the den. His eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Misto, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!

"What? What did you do?" Mistoffelees asked.

"Something's wrong with Fez. You have to come, now!"

Tugger didn't have to ask twice. He, Mistoffelees, and Victoria dashed across the clearing to his den. Fedora was crying, while Fez writhed about on the floor with awkward, jerky motions. "He's having a seizure!" Victoria cried. "Electra used to get them."

"How do we help him?" Tugger asked in a panic.

"I don't remem-"

"We need Jenny or your mom."

And just like that, all eyes were on Misto.

"What?" Tugger gasped. "Misto, you know- Do you really want-"

"I brought him into the world," Misto snapped. "I have to take care of him, whatever the cost."

"I'll get my mother," Victoria said, darting out of the den. Meanwhile, Fez' convulsions died down, and Tugger scooped him up.

"I'm so sorry, Mistoffelees. I'm so, so sorry."

"I think…" Mistoffelees took a deep breath. "I don't think you could have caused it, Tugger. Let's just…get him help."

Mistoffelees stared at the floor, but his mind was clearly far away. "Everyone is going to hate me," he whimpered.


	14. Conclusion

Mistoffelees and Tugger sat outside of Jellylorum's den, looking as defeated as they felt. They sat in silence for a long while. It was Tugger who finally broke the silence.

"Hey, Misto…I'm sorry," he said. "About everything."

Mistoffelees scoffed. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. I was being stupid. This is my fault. It's all my fault. Everything is my fault.

"That's not true," Tugger assured him. "And even if it was, you're my baby brother, and I love you. And if they kick you out of the tribe, they can kick me out, too."

Mistoffelees sniffed. "Thanks, Tugger. May I…may I have a hug?"

"Of course, little brother."

Tugger pulled Mistoffelees into a tight hug, but it did little to quell Mistoffelees' nerves, especially when Jellylorum stepped out of her den, accompanied by none other than Old Deuteronomy himself.

"May I borrow Mistoffelees?" she asked.

Mistoffelees bit back tears. This was it: the moment he had been dreading since that fateful day he tried to magically create life. He had done the unforgivable, and there was no way the tribe would keep him, now.

* * *

"Wait…you mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Oh, you're in trouble. Lots of trouble. All the trouble. But we would never dream of kicking you out of the tribe, Mistoffelees! Why would you even think that?"

The young magician looked pitifully up at the Jellicle leader. "I don't know…"

Old Deuteronomy chuckled, patting Mistoffelees' head. "Well, there is no need to worry about that."

"But what about the kittens?"

"The kittens are part of the tribe, as well. We will care for and cherish them, and one day, we will celebrate the time Mr. Mistoffelees produced seven kittens right out of a hat."

* * *

 _End_


End file.
